Cabinet shelf construction

ABSTRACT

A shelving arrangement for a refrigerator door in which trays, which comprise door-mounted shelves, are adjustable vertically along the door merely by exerting pressure against the under sides of the trays. The interior liner of the door is formed of a sheet of plastic material and carries, along spaced forwardly presented edges, indentations vacuum-formed in the liner and over which lies a vertically extending trim strip cooperable with the indentations to form pockets facing across the width of the door. The trays are movably mounted in the door through the agency of front flanging which closely overlies the outside of the trim strip and spring-urged plungers which are disposed within the pockets and lie close to the other side of the trim strip. The flanging and plungers, in cooperation with the trim strip, maintain the trays properly aligned and securely positioned in the door, without the need to rely upon any supports at the back of the trays.

United States Patent 1191 Amore v 1111 3,807,822 Apr. 30, 1974 CABINETSHELF CONSTRUCTION [75] Inventor: Leo J. Amore, Connersville, Ind.ABSTRACT [73 Assignee: Philco-Ford Corporation, Blue Bell, A shelvingarrangement for a refrigerator door in p which trays, which comprisedoor-mounted shelves, are adjustable vertically along the door merely byex- [22] Flled: 1972 erting pressure against the under sides of thetrays. 211 App]. 293 0 The interior liner of the door is formed of asheet of plastic material and carries, along spaced forwardly Ipresented edges, indentations vacuum-formed in the [52] US. Cl. 312/138A, 211/176 liner and Over which lies averticauy extending trim [51]II-ll. C1. A47f 5/08, A47g 29/00 Strip cooperable with the indentationsto form pockets [58] Field Of Search 312/138 R, 138 A, 143; facingacross; the width of the door. T trays are 211/176; 108/108 152; 248/243244 movably mounted in the door through the agency of front flangingwhich closely overlies the outside of the [56] References C'tedtrim-strip and spring-urged plungers which are dis- U I ED ST TES A E Sv posed within the pockets and lie close to the other 3,469,711 9/1969Swaneck et al. 312/1381: side of the trim strip. The flanging andplungers, in co- 3,647,079 3/1972 Ohlin 211/176 operation with the trimstrip, maintain the trays prop- 3,375,936 4/1968 Kessler 211/176 erlyaligned and securely positioned in the door, without the need to relyupon any supports at the back of Primary ExaminerCasmir A. Nunberg v thetrays. Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Robert D. Sa'nbom; Carl H.' Synnestvedt;Harry W. Hargis, 111 Clalms 5 Drawlng Figures /3 23 r 1 {a 2 M I /i-- Z/CABINET SHELF CONSTRUCTION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There is a trendin kitchen appliances of the cabinet type toward side-by-sidepresentation of the compart ments, e.g., the freezing and food storagecompartments of a refrigerator, with each compartment closed by its owndoor which extends substantially throughout the height of the cabinet.An important part of the storage space within the refrigerator isfurnished by shelves mounted on the interior surface of the door, and toaccommodate such shelves the liners are frequently formed with moldedprojections which extend along each side of the door throughout theheight thereof and define a cavity or depression which faces the cabinetopening when the door is closed. Shelves are commonly supported withinthis cavity.

Adjustability of the shelves is, of course, advantageous, and variousways have been devised to hold the shelves securely within the doorwhile yet accommodating adjustment thereof vertically of the door.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with my invention I have devisedshelves, particularly of tray-like form, which are disposed within saidcavity between the mentioned projections in the door liner, and arecharacterized by a novel arrangement of spring mounted plungers forremovably mounting the trays in the cavity. To this general end I havedeveloped tray-like shelves which include both flange andplungerstructure so cooperable with door carried support means as to affordunusual flexibility of shelf position, as well as ready removability forcleaning purposes.

It is a particular object of the invention to provide a tray which canbe relocated in various positions on the door, without even requiringunloading of its contents prior to relocation. To achieve this purposethe tray support means includes spring loaded plungers engaged withinpockets formed as an integral part of the door inner liner, saidplungers being retained in position by v faces which serve as cams andmove the plungers out of the pockets in response to pressure exertedagainst the lower surface of the tray. This permits the trays to bemoved upwardly within the door cavity, the pressure being released whenthe desired vertical location is reached. Assembly of the trays with thedoor, as well as return movement of the trays down through the height ofthe door, may be accomplished after the plungers have been manuallyretracted from the asso ciated pockets.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the accompanying drawing,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a tray showing the I same in associationwith a trim strip which cooperates to provide proper alignment of thetray in the door;

FIG. 4 is a view of one end of a tray further illustrating the manner inwhich it is supported within the door cavity; and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 2, and illustrating the action of thetray support mechanism when the tray is moved upwardly through the doorcavity.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT While of broaderapplicability, the apparatus of the invention is particularly usefulwhen utilized in the mounting of tray-like shelves within the door of arefrigerator. FIG. illustrates a portion of the refrigerator door 10which is hinged at 11 for opening and closing movements with respect tothe cabinet shown fragmentarily at 12. In accordance with known practicethe door is preferably of the type which comprises an outer shell 13 andan inner liner 14 which are joined around their peripheries in an areaproviding support for the gasket 15. The inner liner is preferablyvacuum formed of plastic material and includes a rear wall 16 and sidewalls 17, 18, which latter project within the cabinet when the door isclosed, and cooperate'with the rear wall 16.to form a cavity withinwhich may be mounted several shelves 19. Preferably, and as illustrated,the shelves comprise trays each of which has a front wall 20 havingflanging 21 which extends outwardly of the tray-defining walls andoverlies trim strips 22 and 23 which extend along the inwardly presentededges of the walls 17 and 18 (FIG. 1).

The edges of said walls, in. the region immediately behind the trimstrips 22 and 23, are provided with indentations 24, preferably vacuumformed in the liner wall. These indentations are disposed in opposedpairs lying at similar elevations throughout the door-carrying height ofthe wall. The indentations of each pair face across the door cavity, aswill be appreciated from FIG. 1, and are open toward the front of therefrigerator. These indentations cooperate with the trim strip whichoverlies the same to form pockets for the receptionof tray carriedsupport means. These pockets appear to good advantage in FIGS. 2, 4 and5.

The shelves or trays are so supported within the pockets 24 as toprovide'for adjustment of the trays upwardly throughout the length ofthe door, in response merely to pressure exerted against the lowersurface of the tray. It is a feature of the invention that the tray hascantilever support from the forward portion thereof, and that the trayflanging 21 cooperates with the trim strips 22-23 in achieving thissupport.

In realization of these features, each tray is provided with a pair ofrecesses 25-25, preferably molded therein (FIG. 3) and within which arehoused springurged plunger mechanisms which are particularly configuredto cooperate with the pockets 24 and with the trim strips 22 and 23.

One of the plunger mechanisms can be seen to good advantage in FIGS. 2and 3, being designated generally at 26. This mechanism comprises anarrow vertically extending plate or frame 27 (FIG. 2) which carries asmaller upper projection 28 and a larger lower projection 29 eachpositioned and sized to fit within the pockets 24 carried by the doorside walls 17 and 18. The frame 27 has staked thereto, as at 30-30, aleaf spring 31 which has an upper end portion of generally U- shape andterminating in a free end 31a (FIG. 2) fastened to the tray, as by thescrew shown at 32 in FIG. 3. The spring urges the frame, and theprojections 28 and 29 carried thereby, out of the tray recess 25 andinto the full line position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. In this position thelarger projection 29 extends well within one of the pockets 24, andsupports the weight of the tray therein, while the smaller projection 28extends within an adjacent one of the recesses 24 a distance justsufficient to lie behind the inside edge of the trim strip. Thisarrangement can be best understood by comparing FIGS. 2 and 3. It willbe understood that each of the oppositely facing recesses 25-25 of thetray is provided with such a spring-urged plunger assembly.

In particular accordance with this invention, the tray is secured withinthe door cavity, at the desired elevation, by the interengagement of thelower surface of the lower projection 29 within the pocket orindentation 24 and by engagement of the tip 34 (FIG. 2) behind theinside edge of the trim strip. As the apparatus is shown in FIG. 2, theinside edge of the trim strip 23 is illustrated at 33. The correspondingedge of the opposite trim strip 22 is shown at 33a.

It is important to note that the lateral flanging 21 of each traycooperates with the trim strip, and with the plunger projections 28 and29, in providing firm support for the tray within the door cavitywithout the need to provide support for the back of the tray. To achievethis purpose, the mentioned plunger projections are spaced from the rearsurface of the tray flanging 21 a distance just sufficient to receivethe thickness of the trim strip between said plunger projections and thetray flanging. This important feature of the construction is illustratedin FIGS. 3 and 4. By the relatively extended contact of the insidesurface of the tray flange 21 with the forwardly presented surface ofthe trim strip, and by the corresponding engagement of the plungerprojections 28 and 29 with the rearwardly presented surfaces of the trimstrip, the tray is securely mounted and cocking thereof in the doorcavity is prevented. This cooperative engagement of the plungerprojections, the trim, and the tray flange appears most clearly in FIG.4.

Each tray plunger mechanism carries a downwardly presented projection 35(FIGS. 2 and which can be finger operated to a position in which theplungers are nested within the tray recess 25 enabling them to clear theinside front edge of the trim, thus providing for mounting anddemounting of the tray within the door cavity. The recessed position ofone of the plungers, and of its finger-operable projection 35, is shownin broken lines in FIG. 2. Upon release of the projections 35 theplungers, of course, return under the influence of the springs 31, tothe tray-mounting position in which the projections 28 and 29 cooperatewith a series of pockets 24.

To relocate any of the door-carried trays at a higher elevation withinthe door cavity, pressure is exerted against the lower surface of thetray causing an inclined cam surface portion 36 of the lower plungerprojection 29 to engage with the upper wall of the pocket within whichit is nested. This position of the parts of the apparatus is illustratedin full lines in FIG. 5. By comparison of the full line and the brokenline showings it will be seen that slight upper movement of the tray hasbrought the cam surface 36 in engagement with the upper wall of thepocket 24 and that the plunger projection 29 is thereby moved back intothe tray recess 25, reaching a position in which it is entirely clear ofthe pocket. If upward pressure against the tray is maintained, it willbe moved vertically within the door to a desired position in which itsplunger projections 28 and 29 enter other and higher pockets 24.

In summary as to this feature, the lower plunger projection 29 has anupwardly presented camming surface 36 so sloped as to cause retractionof the entire plunger assembly in response to contact of said cammingsurface with upper surface portions of the pocket. Accordingly,continued upward movement of the tray results in withdrawal of theplunger means from the doorcarried pockets, and accommodates movement ofthe tray upwardly through the cavity to a position in which its plungersconfront and enter other opposed pockets. Since the lower surface 37 ofthe projection 29, on each of the right and left side plungerassemblies,is not inclined, and because the confronting floor of thepocket is not substantially inclined, retrograde movement of the traydown through the door cavity can be accomplished only if the projections35, of both assemblies, are moved in a direction to retract the plungersfrom their pockets. Accordingly, the tray and its load are properlysupported at the desired location within the door.

I claim:

1. A removable and adjustable shelving arrangement for a cabinet door ofthe kind having a cabinet-facing, shelf-carrying cavity with rear andside walls, said arrangement comprising: identations formed in the doorat free edge portions of said side walls and disposed in pairs facingacross the width of the door cavity; doorcarried strip means overlyingthe indentations substantially in the plane of said free edge portionsand cooperable with said indentations to form shelfsupporting pockets;and at least one tray-like shelf shaped and disposed to lie within andspan the width of said cavity, said tray-like shelf carrying resilientlyurged plunger means extending retractably from opposite side wallportions of the shelf and into an opposed pair of said pockets, saidplunger means having camming surfaces so sloped as to cause retractionof said plunger means, in response to contact of said camming surfacewith upper surface portions of said pockets, and consequent withdrawalof the plunger means from the pockets to accommodate movement of theshelf upwardly through the cavity to a position in which its plungermeans confronts and enters another pair of opposed pockets.

2. A shelving arrangement in accordance with claim 1, and in which saidshelf is provided with flanging extending therefrom in the general planeof the front of the shelf and closely overlying said strip means, on theside thereof opposite said pockets.

3. A shelving arrangement in accordance with claim 2, and in which: saidflanging is formed as a lateral extension of the front wall of theshelf; and said strip means comprises door trim extending along saidfree edge portions substantially throughout the height of the door andclosely overlying said indentations to form said pockets.

4. In a refrigerator door of the type having an outer shell and an innerliner having a food storage recess therein, at least one tray disposedwithin said recess, and means removably supporting said tray in saidrecess, said means comprising: at least a pair of members each disposedadjacent a side wall of the tray and each being resiliently urged tooccupy a position in which it extends outwardly of said side wall; aplurality of recessed areas provided in the door liner and arranged inpairs, the recessed areas of each pair facing across the liner, trimstrip means overlying the recessed areas and having rear surfaceportions cooperating with said recessed areas to form tray supportpockets, said resiliently urged members projecting retractably withinsaid pockets into a position in which they reside closely adjacent therear side of said trim strip means; and flange means extending from thetray into a position closely overlying the front side of said trim stripmeans, said resiliently urged members, said trim strip means, and saidflange means being so cooperably disposed as to support the tray incantilever fashion within said recess.

5. A construction in accordance with claim 4, and further characterizedin that said liner has side walls which define said-food storage recess;said recessed areas are disposed in free edge portions of said sidewalls; and said trim strip means lies substantially in a plane definedby said free edge portions, in close adjacency to said recessed areas.

1. A removable and adjustable shelving arrangement for a cabinet door ofthe kind having a cabinet-facing, shelf-carrying cavity with rear andside walls, said arrangement comprising: identations formed in the doorat free edge portions of said side walls and disposed in pairs facingacross the width of the door cavity; door-carried strip means overlyingthe indentations substantially in the plane of said free edge portionsand cooperable with said indentations to form shelf-supporting pockets;and at least one tray-like shelf shaped and disposed to lie within andspan the width of said cavity, said tray-like shelf carrying resilientlyurged plunger means extending retractably from opposite side wallportions of the shelf and into an opposed pair of said pockets, saidplunger means having camming surfaces so sloped as to cause retractionof said plunger means, in response to contact of said camming surfacewith upper surface portions of said pockets, and consequent withdrawalof the plunger means from the pockets to accommodate movement of theshelf upwardly through the cavity to a position in which its plungermeans confronts and enters another pair of opposed pockets.
 2. Ashelving arrangement in accordance with claim 1, and in which said shelfis provided with flanging extending therefrom in the general plane ofthe front of the shelf and closely overlying said strip means, on theside thereof opposite said pockets.
 3. A shelving arrangement inaccordance with claim 2, and in which: said flanging is formed as alateral extension of the front wall of the shelf; and said strip meanscomprises door trim extending along said free edge portionssubstantially throughout the height of the door and closely overlyingsaid indentations to form said pockets.
 4. In a refrigerator door of thetype having an outer shell and an inner liner having a food storagerecess therein, at least one tray disposed within said recess, and meansremovably supporting said tray in said recess, said means comprising: atleast a pair of members each disposed adjacent a side wall of the trayand each being resiliently urged to occupy a position in which itextends outwardly of said side wall; a plurality of recessed areasprovided in the door liner and arranged in pairs, the recessed areas ofeach pair facing across the liner, trim strip means overlying therecessed areas and having rear surface portions cooperating with saidrecessed areas to form tray support pockets, said resiliently urgedmembers projecting retractably within said pockets into a position inwhich they reside closely adjacent the rear side of said trim stripmeans; and flange means extending from the tray into a position closelyoverlying the front side of said trim strip means, said resilientlyurged members, said trim strip means, and said flange means being socooperably disposed as to support the tray in cantilever fashion withinsaid recess.
 5. A construction in accordance with claim 4, and furthercharacterized in that said liner has side walls which define said foodstorage recess; said recessed areas are disposed in free edge portionsof said side walls; and said trim strip means lies substantially in aplane defined by said free edge portions, in close adjacency to saidrecessed areas.